January ended four days ago, so it’s past time for our usual monthly round-up of news about forthcoming albums. I have to confess that this list is even more spotty and sporadically assembled than usual — which is saying something. Various distractions prevented me from keeping a sharp eye out for news about new releases, so I have no doubt this list is incomplete.

Here’s how this round-up usually works: In these METAL IN THE FORGE posts, I collect news blurbs and press releases I’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like at NCS (including occasional updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know their music yet. In this series, I cut and paste those announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

Remember — THIS ISN’T A CUMULATIVE LIST. If we found out about a new forthcoming album earlier than the last 30 days, we probably wrote about it in previous installments of this series. So, be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported earlier. For example, on this list you won’t see such notable releases as the forthcoming albums from Meshuggah, Enthroned, Unleashed, Psycroptic, Goatwhore, Asphyx, Naglfar, or Autopsy, because we’ve mentioned them elsewhere. Or at least I think we did.

Having said all that, please feel free to leave Comments and tell all of us what I missed when I put this list together. Let us know about albums on the way that you’re stoked about, even if you don’t see them here!Continue reading »

That’s what this post is — just a spin of the metal roulette wheel. The tiny ball (otherwise known as my brain) skitters and bounces around and eventually comes to rest in a slot, and then we spin again. Four slots, four bands, new and old, picked at random based on newly available music, but recommended by my tiny, ball-like brain.

BREACH

I first heard mention of this band in the list of albums recommended by Mika Andre (Eryn Non Dae.) as part of our 2011 year-end Listmania. Mika’s list included an album called The Tunnels by a band called Terra Tenebrosa (which, by the way, has been wrecking my sanity ever since). Mika mentioned that Terra Tenebrosa was a projected started by some guys from a Swedish band called Breach.

Then, last night, I saw that a 2002 EP by Breach called Godbox was being re-released in re-mastered form on vinyl by Apocaplexy Records. Apocaplexy gave this description of the music:

“It starts with weird noises and woman screaming. The drums kick in, this gnarly bass, this groove, these melodies. Audible darkness, 98% darker than most Black Metal bands claim to be. The important thing: This is unique, untouched by cliches, timeless . . .This swedish band which lacked brighter attention in their days because everybody rather focused on Refused. This band people compared with Neurosis because yet again it just lacks comparison. It’s more than hardcore, more than metal, more than any other box you want to put this in.”Continue reading »

My, how time flies. Another month is in the history books. However much time you have on earth, you now have 31 days less of it since since the last installment of this post. Drink up!

But have no fear. You’re headed for a better place. That’s right, basically the same existence you had a month ago, but with more new metal ahead of you. Drink up!

And all those physical processes that are inexorably decaying your bodies on the rocky road to your demise, they’re still there and they’re still working on you like termites that have found a rotting log. But hey, you can still bang your head, so . . . Drink up!

Yes, we’re now a full seven months into 2010, and so it’s time for another monthly update to the list of forthcoming new albums we first posted on January 1. (All the other updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases we didn’t know about at the time of our previous updates, or updated info about some of the previously noted releases.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Perhaps needless to say, these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site — the kind that would like to tear your head off.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted items from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and put reminders on your calendar. Or if you’re like us, just stick post-it notes on your forehead. Of course, if your foreheads are the low, sloping kind, you may only have room for a few, so be choosy.Continue reading »